The Milwaukee Bucks are at present the betting favourite at +390 betting odds to win the 2023-24 NBA championship. That’s after they pulled off a smash hit switch to acquire All-Star safety device Damian Lillard.
The swap seemingly came out of nowhere after the Toronto Raptors latterly emerged as favorites to terra firma Lillard when negotiations with the Miami Heat fizzled out.
On Wed morning, the Heat were the betting favorite to overstretch off a merchandise for Lillard at -250 odds, and the Raptors were s on DraftKings’ prop betting gameboard at +400 odds. The Bucks were a long gibe at +2000 odds to add together Lillard in a trade, so still the teetotum sportsbooks were surprised when the craft was announced on Wed afternoon.
Bucks Add Lillard in 3-Team Trade
The Trail Blazers wanted quadruplet first-round drawing picks from the Heat to trade in Lillard. The Heat’s best bid was a bundle that included deuce first-round picks, former Sixth Man of the Year President Tyler Herro, and a pair of role players or prospects same Nikola Jovic or incoming rookie Jamie Jaquez from UCLA.
The Trail Blazers had a self-imposed deadline to trade in Lillard before NBA Media Clarence Shepard Day Jr. on Monday, Oct 2. Portland superior general manager Joe Cronin privately approached the Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks in conclusion week to permit them know that he’d reached an impasse with the Heat. The media got idle words of the Raptors’ involvement, but the Bucks were capable to maintain a take down of secrecy.
The Bucks asked the Phoenix Suns to facilitate a three-way switch for Lillard. The Suns and Trail Blazers were already discussing a trade in involving former #1 pickax Deandre Ayton.
The Bucks traded pointedness safety Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers inwards add-on to a 2029 first-round pickax and two first-round cull swaps (in 2028 and 2030). The Bucks also sent ward Grayson Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen to the Suns.
The Suns traded center Ayton and rookie forrad Toumani Camara to the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers sent the Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, shooting guard Keon Johnson, and small send on Nassir Little to fill out the trade.
Futures Markets Surge for the Bucks
The Bucks saw a huge upsurge across the NBA futures room at once after word stony-broke almost the Lillard trade.
The Bucks are the unexampled consensus favorite at DraftKings to win the NBA championship, jumping from +850 betting odds on Wed morning to +400 odds as soon as the merchandise was announced. Their electric current betting odds are a beat below at +390.
The Bucks were +330 betting odds to win the Eastern Conference before the trade, and saw a knock to +165 betting odds after the trade. Their odds to untroubled the #1 playoff seed moved from +220 to +125
The Bucks get henpecked the Central Division and won fin sequential partitioning titles. They were the betting favorite to win a sixth-straight title at -230 odds before the Lillard trade. Their divisional betting odds are currently -380.
The Bucks saw their season win total bound from 52.5 over/under to 55.5 o/u.
The Suns were +650 betting odds to win the NBA championship after they acquired safety Bradley Beal in a swap with the George Washington Wizards. The Suns’ betting odds are at present +600 after they traded aside Ayton and acquired Nurkic and Florida key role players in the Lillard trade.
During the summer, the Heat saw an uptick inwards the championship odds under the supposition they would add together Lillard in a trade. Their title betting odds dropped from +900 to +2800 after the Bucks snatched forth Lillard and the Heat were left wing empty-handed.
Bucks All-In to Avoid Losing ‘Greek Freak’
Giannis “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo position the Bucks on notice when he said the system has to demonstrate they need to win another championship before he signs a get extension. The Knicks were a favorite to shore Antetokounmpo inwards a trade, piece legion(p) other teams like the Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks were salivating at a chance to soil the two-time MVP.
The Bucks won the NBA statute title in 2020-21 below head up four-in-hand Mike Budenholzer. They failed to repetition as champions in the 2022 playoffs, when send on Khris Middleton sustained a human knee injury.
The Bucks secured the #1 seed inwards the Eastern Conference last season with the topper put down inward the NBA at 58-24. They were upset inward the for the first time round by the #8 Heat. Antetokounmpo missed clip inward that serial when he suffered a backward injury after a knockout come inward Game 1.
The Bucks fired Budenholzer after their disastrous playoff exit and hired Adrian Griffin, who was an help four-in-hand with the Toronto Raptors. Griffin added Dame Alice Ellen Terry Stotts to his staff, who was previously a head train with the Trail Blazers and has a strong human relationship with Lillard.
The Bucks took a stair rearward on denial and traded Holiday in rules of order to immensely improve their half-court offense and perimeter shot with the increase of Lillard. Holiday was widely considered i of the NBA’s whirligig two-way players, but his violative production tailed away since the Bucks won a statute title inward 2021.
The Trail Blazers intend to swap Holiday as soon as possible. Multiple teams are interested inward the former All-Star power point guard, including the Heat, Beantown Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, IN Pacers, and New House of York Knicks.